Game music of the day: Turbo Turtle Adventure

GR's ongoing tribute to the beloved world of videogame music

Welcome to GamesRadar's daily blast of all things pertaining to the ever-growing field of game music. Each post will introduce new sounds, games, composers and fan-made remixes of gaming's greatest aural achievements.

April 27, 2010

Game: Turbo Turtle Adventure

Song: Space Station

Composer: Carl Larsson

Above: Space Station from Turbo Turtle Adventure

Turbo Turtle is the perfect case of "don't judge a book by its cover," or in the videogame world, "don't judge a shitty-looking budget game by its horrendous box art." I walked right past ol' Turbo Turtle dozens of times, always assuming it was yet another wasteful GBA slop bucket of game code. Turns out it's a decentpuzzle/action game with pretty OK music, including one song that's become a GamesRadar favorite.

Once you've guided this little turtle thing around a swamp and a village, you rightfully end up on a space station. Even though it makes zero sense, I'll allow it because the music is remarkably impactful - despite it being upbeat and dance-ish, there's a wistful feel to it, like the turtle realizes how far from home he really is, and he may never see it again. There's no turning back, Turbo Turtle. The only way out is through.

Above: Literally the ONE gameplay video I could find. Doesn't help, does it?

We played this space station track in one of the earlierTalkRadar episodes, so there's a small chance some of you may remember it. Oh, one last note about the composer, Carl Larsson. It looks like Turbo Turtle may have been some kind of family affair, as Carl joins Bjorn and Monica Larsson in the credits, all from a company called Iridion Interactive. Turns out they're now called Legendo and still name drop Turbo Turtle on theirofficial site. Glad someone other than me remembers it.